Desciple of Cas: Vessel Protector
by someonenewtointervene
Summary: Cas sends a mystery guest to Sam and Dean to protect them both from angels and demons. The danger for Sam and Dean has escalated, causing them to be extra cautious about who they trust and who they kill. Cas hopes to protect his friends and Team Free Will by bringing in his student.
1. Chapter 1

"Look, Dean. I've told you already!" Holy water and salt are tossed in the captive's face. There is no reaction at all.

"How the Hell do you even know my name?" Dean exclaims. The room is dark and musty. The walls are covered in planks of polished cedar, no paint or wallpaper in sight. A young girl in her late teens is slouched in a single-seat leather couch, blood dripping from the right side of her head and left cheek.

"Cas." She muttered the single word. The name causes Dean's expression to change from rage to confusion. "Castiel. I know you know him."

"Why do you know who I am? Why do you know Cas? Or how?" With every question Dean's voice became louder and louder, such a high volume that the window panes rattle in their frames. _There is something too strange about this girl showing up in the middle of the case, too strange to be just a coincidence_, Deans thinks.

Frustrated, Dean paces back and forth, grabbing a beer bottle and taking a quick swig.

"Dean, a word with you?" Sam asks patiently. The worried and just as confused little brother confronts Dean about the whole confusing situation."Look, I know this sounds really crazy, but maybe she can help us. We have had no new leads and she says she knows Cas."

"I'm really sick of all this Cas nonsense. Mr. Disappear has left me in the dust too many times. I've almost died every time! Cas so far is no friend of mine," Dean elaborates.

From the other room, there's a sudden flash of light and gust of wind. Almost immediately Dean and Sam rush in, only to find the angel in question standing in front of their mystery guest.

"Cas! I found them!" the girl exclaims.

"So, now that you're here, care to explain what the hell is going on?" Dean asks with urgency.

"Elise is here to help you. She is also, in a way, my student. I guided her and she is a very special person who you may find useful in your cases… and for the grand scheme of things," Cas explains in monotone.

"Wait, Elise? Student? Grand scheme of things?" Sam stares confused.

"My name is Elise Renard. My name tells my story," she pauses. Sam and Dean stare blankly at her, feeling out of the loop. "Cas has already explained a while ago the whole St. Michael and Lucifer prophecy to you. In a way, you two represent Heaven and Hell in coexistence. Dean was going to be the vessel of St. Michael and Sam, the vessel or replacement of Lucifer."

"Hold on," Sam interjects, "replacement?"

"Well," Elise begins, "things in Hell are a little more violent, as pop culture has led everyone to believe. And you having demon blood in you but being human, makes you have stronger abilities than any demon can even imagine of manifesting. Some want to say that being human is a weakness, but it has been a strength now hasn't it?"

Sam shows a puzzled yet understanding look. Reading the realization, Dean interrupts, "So what does all of this have to do with you."

"First name: God's oath. Last name: fox, in nature perceived as a trickster with a touch of loyalty. That's what my name means. I represent you both in one unit."

"But I thought we stopped the Apocalypse?" Dean asks suspiciously and hastily to Cas.

"That was the old world order. Ever since you two stopped it all and prevented eternal chaos, I took it upon myself to preserve that balance. Elise has power and is under my guidance. She has been disconnected for so long from her family, that she came to realize and obtain her true ability." Dean and Sam look at Cas in searching manner.

"You care about her," Dean chuckled. "The angel found human emotion."

"If you think about it, he's always had emotions. How else would he have realized he needed to help you stop the Apocalypse and Zachariah? Without an angel's powers to support your escape, this place would be a whole lot different," Elise elaborates.

"Thank you Elise. Anyway," Cas continues relieving his smile, "there's danger ahead for you two. There's battles I will partake in along your sides but there's something I have to take care of first. I'm leaving Elise here with you. You will figure out why soon enough."

"Why can't you just tell us?!" Dean exclaims just as Cas disappears.


	2. Chapter 2

Elise chuckles. "Oh, Cas," she says, "he never seems to know when to leave and when to stay."

"You think?" Dean rebuttals.

Now, Sam, Dean, and Elise have been left behind by their angel friend. They don't know when Cas will come back to help or just to check-in. Frustrated, Dean pulls up a chair and sits in front of the girl, and looks questioningly, as if he is interrogating her telepathically.

"Look, Dean," Elise begins, "Would you mind untying me? You know I am an ally of yours and I can explain things much better if you let me get more comfortable."

"Why should I trust you?" Dean questions. "Cas is a two-faced character pretty much all the time. Why should we trust you?"

"Dean, I think," Sam begins to intervene.

"Very well," Elise interrupts. With a snap of a finger, the ropes disappear, and Sam and Dean stare in confusion. Chuckling, Elise stands up, taking a quick stretch.

"Alright that's one step too far!" Sam says in a panicked tone. He grabs for the demon blade and the stolen arch-angel's blade and points them immediately at the girl.

As to not strike more panic and fear into the brothers, Elise moves back to a nearby oak table. She moves back and sits on the table's surface. Casually, she takes off her hooded leather jacket. The brothers' attention is first directed to her worn out t-shirt. The once navy t-shirt is now a faded grey-blue with a tattered ribbed collar, and the fabric worn so thin to the point of being no thicker than a few sheets of paper. Once her jacket is completely off, her arms were exposed. The shock sweeps over Sam and Dean. The sight of her arms causes Sam's jaw to drop, and Dean to stare in disbelief.

"Is that," Sam mumbles, "Enochian?"

"Partly," Elise says almost nonchalantly. "You see, I have studied seals of all cultures and sub-cultures. I can summon the seals to my skin's surface and transfer the trap by merely exposing my blood to the exposed seal. I can't summon demons or anything like that. You have to do the whole séance and ritual to get that to work, but I can trap and disperse anything, essentially."

"But, what? Are you broken or something?" Dean asks, jokingly.

"No," Elise comments. "This is just to make sure nothing followed me here."

"Or possessed you," Sam interjects.

"Actually nothing can possess me. It has nothing to do with my ability though," Elise explains. "That's what this is for," Elise says as she hops off the table and pulls up the back of her shirt, exposing a tattoo of a seal in the center of her back, almost covering it completely. This seal is similar to what Sam and Dean have on their chests with some slight variations, but is surrounded by three smaller seals, one that Sam recognizes.

"So that tattoo has to be that big? And how does the angel banishment seal help back there?" Sam questions intrigued.

"The center seal had to be of this size because of the writing. It can't be smudgy or the words don't mean anything. The angel banishment seal keeps any angels from possessing me."

"So the other angels," Dean interrupts, "don't know you are allied with Cas, and now with us, I guess."

"No. Heaven and Hell want their respective vessels so the Apocalypse can commence. Cas knew that all this was going to happen according to prophecy. Every so many years someone bestowed with this hidden gift, most of the time once every generation, in anticipation of the Apocalypse. Although in scripture, St. Michael and Lucifer do battle to the end of mankind, the scriptures only tell you so much, what people of the time wanted to hear. "

"Let's back up for a second," Sam requests. "You said you represent the both of us in one body. The classic meaning of your first name I get, but of your last… Isn't that sort of… Pagan?"

"Actually, it's not pagan. Dante Alighieri's _Inferno_, Canto XXVII: 'While I still kept the form in flesh and bones/ my mother gave me, my deeds were not/ a lion's but that of a fox. / Cunning stratagems and covert schemes, / I knew them all, and was so skilled in them/ my fame rang out to the far confines of the earth.' It's prophecy in its own right," Elise explains.

"So now, Dante's _Inferno_ is a credible prophetic text?" Sam says, shocked and suspicious.

Elise, slightly annoyed, elaborates, "It makes sense doesn't it? You two, the vessel brothers, have committed good and bad in your lifetimes. You are the form your mother gave you, but your actions depend upon yourself. Prophetic scripture says that Dean is of Heaven, and sorry Sam, but you are of Hell. Actions of a lion and that of a fox. Both of you are guilty of that because you are human. I am the embodiment of the both of you. The stratagems and covert schemes run in my veins, my skin, my mind. The seals and the knowledge that I have, they are meant to reflect the actions of a lion but can be traitorous to those I do not truly trust or believe in. Your fame as well as mine reigns as infamy in Heaven and Hell. If I would have fallen into the wrong hands I could have banished every angel and the war would have been won by Hell, and mankind would become extinct." Elise pauses. "Now, do you believe that I am here to help you two? I know the battle has not truly begun but there is no telling when. That's why I am here now. Before it's too late."

Sam and Dean look each other in the eye and give slight nods. It seems that an agreement has been struck and that, although there are questions that still need to be asked and answered, they can trust Elise thus far.


End file.
